Cindy is a mom to two girls. She and her husband own and operate a brick oven pizzeria. She spent the first five years of the business ownership in “survival mode,” getting very little sleep. Her mental health was suffering and she went on a quest to help herself naturally.

She started practicing many of the Body Thrive habits on her own and a friend subsequently told her about the program. Through Body Thrive, Cindy was able to fine tune those habits and improve her health even more.

A lot of the work we do in Yoga Health Coaching revolves around time management and schedule integrity. Cindy has also found that technology skills she has learned such as online calendaring, online schedulers, and web design have streamlined her days and made her life so much easier. Learning the science behind habit-building gave Cindy the “why”s she needed to stick to the changes she was making. Knowing, for example, that neuroplasticity peaks during the hours that we are waking and going to sleep helps Cindy set herself up for successful, positive days.

With Yoga Health Coaching, Cindy is inspired and excited to help other people find their way to natural health.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How Yoga Health Coaching teaches us how to set ourselves up for success.
• How Yoga Health Coaching combines personal thrive with professional thrive.
• How structures and systems lead to massive evolution.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Body Thrive
• Yoga Health Coaching

Show Highlights:

• 0:00 – Cindy is a mom to two girls. She and her husband own and operate a brick oven pizzeria. She spent the first five years of the business ownership in “survival mode,” getting very little sleep. Her mental health was suffering and she went on a quest to help herself naturally. She started practicing many of the Body Thrive habits on her own and a friend subsequently told her about the program. Through Body Thrive, Cindy was able to fine tune those habits and improve her health even more. With Yoga Health Coaching, Cindy is inspired and excited to help other people find their way to natural health.
• 9:00 – A lot of the work we do in Yoga Health Coaching revolves around time management and schedule integrity. Cindy has also found that technology skills she has learned such as online calendaring, online schedulers, and web design have streamlined her days and made her life so much easier.
• 16:45 – Cindy also learned how to set up her environment for who she wants to become next. Moving her workspace from the kitchen table to a proper desk changed her identity. She also learned other tips and tricks for keeping herself organized and on task.
• 23:25 – Learning the science behind habit-building gave Cindy the “why”s she needed to stick to the changes she was making. Knowing, for example, that neuroplasticity peaks during the hours that we are waking and going to sleep helps Cindy set herself up for successful, positive days.
• 28:00 – Cindy’s self awareness has also increased thanks to the habits of Body Thrive. She now feels responsive rather than reactive.

Your Favorite Quotes:

• “We commonly have people who are already ayurvedic practitioners and yogis coming into this program and learning the ten habits of Body Thrive and going, oh my gosh, it’s the structure that precedes the massive evolution.” — Carly Banks
• “When you learn to automate, then you simplify your life.” — Carly Banks
• “We think we can do it with willpower alone, but we need systems.” — Cindy Marshall
• “I don’t want to be reactive; I want to respond, not react.” — Cindy Marshall

Guest BIO:

As an owner of a family restaurant, with experience teaching art for the Art Museum and community art center, Program Director of The Boys and Girls Club, youth development coordinator for a middle school, co-founder and teacher of Girls Rock Camps (teaching girls how to play instruments, write songs then perform to large audiences!) and recently, a teacher to disabled seniors, yoga health coach in training Cindy Marshall gives a lot to her community, her 2 kids, her husband and her siblings.

Through her constant effort over the last few years, she learned the hard way that self care had to move up in the list of priorities if she was going to avoid burnout. She needed to create structures around her time, and her focus on self, that would allow her to do the work she wants to do in the world without losing steam. The habits of Body Thrive have brought her ease in her full days, and she is excited to say that the tools learned in Yoga Health Coaching are really so simple. All you need to do is start. Connect with Cindy on her Facebook page.

“Breathing in, I calm my body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh– from Being Peace

When I was 25 my dad died from pancreatic cancer. His death, just 4 months after diagnosis, left me questioning what it meant to live a full life and how we can most effectively navigate these very human challenges. My search for answers unfolded into studies in Buddhism, Yoga, and eventually Ayurveda. Some of the first writings I was introduced to were the simple and effective teachings of Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. One of my favorite writings of Thich Nhat Hanh was a mantra from his book, Being Peace: “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.”  This phrase was taught to me in an abbreviated form: “calm, smile, present, wonderful.” I began to use it during hot and sweaty Bikram yoga classes, during the stress of marital separation and as a tool to share with my yoga students. Over 20 years later this mantra is still my favorite go-to.

Mantra = Mind Protecting

Mantra- the use of sounds or words as objects of concentration- means “mind protecting. ” By allowing our awareness to settle on the sounds we repeat aloud or silently we “protect” ourselves from thoughts or emotional responses triggered by our daily lives. Staying focused on the mantra protects us from negative thoughts, monkey mind and replaying conversations in our head. It keeps us in the moment. Mantra comes in many forms. Some mantras, called “seed” mantras, are sounds that do not have a particular meaning in English. Full phrases in both Sanskrit, “om shanti shanti shanti,” and English (“breath in goes deep, breath out goes slow”) are used commonly. Mantras can be used with other practices like yoga or as a stand alone meditation practice.

Train Your Nervous System to Be Calm and Steady

A key teaching from the world of Ayurveda is the value of mindfulness or meditation practice as part of a daily rhythm of self care called “dinya charya”.  One of my teachers- the Abbot of a Theravada Buddhist Monastery, helped me understand that practice is just that, practice. The time we spend meditating – whether we follow the breath or use a mantra- gives our nervous system and subconscious a chance to develop a familiarity with the technique.  The goal? When we face a challenge in real life – when we need to be calm and steady and hold space for ourselves – the mantra and our breath are right there with us. Our practice gives us ability to access calm and peace even when it seems elusive.

Anxiety + Overwhelm: Using Mantra to Navigate Life

As much as I had used the mantra “calm, smile” both in practice and in troubled times, it was this winter, over 20 years after first learning it – that I had the chance to see the full benefit of mantra in action.

My History of Anxiety

Part of my history is one of anxiety and overwhelm. I notice that this tendency is worsening as I age. Ayurveda views anxiety through the lens of what is called a Vata overdominance imbalance. As we age, we tend to become even more Vata dominant in our bodies, minds, and hearts which means that managing anxiety is made easier by self care practices like keeping things simple, following a routine, oil massage, and using practices like yoga and meditation.  Although I follow Vata pacifying self care practices, my life recently has been one of travel, living in temporary accommodations and spending endless hours working on the computer. These are all lifestyle factors that increase Vata and make me more vulnerable to the panic attacks I can experience on planes and buses when I feel confined.

How I Stopped My Panic Attack

I am sitting in an aisle seat in a plane. I fly a lot and love travelling in spite of the fact that as soon as the beverage cart rolls up beside me and the flight attendant looks down at me, I get triggered. Something about this scenario makes me unbelievably claustrophobic, which I compensate for first by taking off shoes and sweaters. I start clearing away anything that might be blocking me or even touching me. I ask my family to move as far into their seat as they can. The stronger my panic attack the more I need to take action, I ask the flight attendant to move the cart, and I often stand up and try to walking in the aisle. In the past, I have never been able to calm myself without asking others to help by moving and giving me space.  On my recent flight to Mexico, I had a surprise. I began to feel myself getting triggered, a panic attack looked inevitable, I looked down, dug deep, and began repeating “breathing in, I calm my body, breathing out, I smile.” I blocked out everything else and repeated until the beverage cart moved on. And to my surprise, I averted my panic attack.

Trust The Practice

I lie on the floor in Bikram yoga with eyes wide open, breath ragged and “calm, smile, present, wonderful” on endless repeat. Walking and breathing to the rhythm of mantra. Meditation. Following my breath, as I drive, sit to work and in-between activities.I have learned that practice comes in many forms and that when my real-life anxiety meets years of experience with a favorite mantra, my ability to calm and regroup is right there, waiting for me. Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. I got this.

Eighteen months after the birth of her twins, Lael was close to burnout and harboring resentment in her marriage. She and her husband started couples therapy where Lael was forced to confront her own addictions. A couple of years after saving her marriage and overcoming her addictions, and at a time when life seemed good, she received a cancer diagnosis. During treatment, Lael was forced to slow down, and her time spent in contemplation became the turning point in her life.

Lael was introduced to yoga in college but it wasn’t until her cancer diagnosis that she recognized the spiritual benefits of the practice and started waking up to her own life. She started yoga teacher training. During teacher training, Lael found Yogidetox and Yoga Health Coaching, and she now feels like she is following her dharma. With each round of Body Thrive, Lael feels like she’s peeling back more and more layers, and now, as a coach, she gets to see it all from another perspective. Connection with her higher power keeps her effective, efficient, and inspired.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How the habits of Body Thrive lay the groundwork for deep transformation.
• How burnout, addiction, and resentment can masquerade as highly functional.
• Why you don’t need to be (and probably shouldn’t be) perfect to be a good coach.

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Yogidetox
• Body Thrive
• Yoga Health Coaching
• Lael’s website

Show Highlights:

• 1:00 – Yoga health coaches are able to show up in a really honest way and share their struggles with each other and with the people they coach.
• 2:00 – Lael has been a therapist in private practice for 11 years. She has faced burnout, addiction and disease, and has overcome them all.
• 9:00 – Despite appearing as though she was doing all the “right things” and functioning at a very high level, Lael was missing the deep self care she needed. She deepened her yoga practice, started yoga teacher training, and found yoga health coaching.
• 14:15 – Lael is now running her first yoga health coaching group. She feels as though she has awakened to her own life. Through health coaching, she is able to share and to be real with her clients in a way that she couldn’t in a clinical setting. She feels she can now help people in a practical way.
• 19:45 – For lasting habit change, kaizen (small, incremental steps toward great change) is Lael’s top tip.
• 24:00 – Scheduling in down time, time to connect with her higher power, keeps Lael effective, efficient, and inspired.

Favorite Quotes:

• “Sometimes our desire to be with other people is a distraction from our own stuff.” — Lael Peterson
• “I was doing all the right things, . . . but it wasn’t that deep self care. It wasn’t about slowing down at all. It was very busy. It wasn’t about really listening to my true desire. . . . It was doing what was in front of me and what I was good at. . . . And I wasn’t unhappy, but it wasn’t sustainable.” — Lael Peterson
• “I didn’t want to be one way in my personal life and one way with my clients. I wanted to take everything that I was learning in my personal life and bring it to people.” — Lael Peterson
• “I want to be real with people. . .  I want to help people in a real, practical way. And I feel like health coaching and what I learned in Body Thrive is perfect for people. It’s exactly what they need to know.” — Lael Peterson
• “It’s incredible to hear that coming from a therapist’s perspective, because I very much felt the same way: No matter what the issue is, start with the habits of Body Thrive, and then see what flushes out.” — Carly Banks
• “How could you have any clarity about what’s actually driving you crazy, when you’re so out of rhythm; you’re so out of sync?” — Lael Peterson
• “I am only as effective or as efficient or inspired as I am connected. . . . It’s really, really important for me to be connected to my higher power, and the way I do that is by getting away from my regular life.” — Lael Peterson

Guest BIO:

Lael is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, yogi and yoga teacher. She’s a recovering addict, cancer survivor, spiritual seeker, and nature lover. She’s also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been providing support, education and therapy for the past 15 years. Lael offers individual therapy as well as yoga health coaching. Her personal life experience combined with her professional expertise and her innate passion to help people live better lives forms the basis of her practice. Her approach is create an atmosphere of safety and acceptance where her clients can dig deep and get real. Connect with lael on her FB page Lael Petersen and her website .

With my daughter, in a state of fatigue never before experienced by my husband and I, we went with the Ferber method (otherwise known as “Cry-It-Out”). And you know what? It worked like a charm! After two nights of crying, that little baby girl figured out how to fall asleep on her own, and slept 13 hours, and has done ever since.

Now my son is a different story. We tried to follow the same path as we had with our girl. He was having none of it. He’d cry for… for.. forever. He’d cry until he fell asleep, and then wake 2 hours later to cry some more. This method just plain didn’t work for him. And it left me feeling devastated.

Let’s talk about why we ‘sleep train’ our kids. Did I want to do it because they were always tired, or cranky, or seeming like they weren’t well rested? No. But my lord that’s exactly how I would’ve described myself in those days!

Halfway through my son’s first year I was a complete train wreck. I walked around with this look on my face – resting bitch face doesn’t even describe it. It was like resting sad and hateful face. From the moment I woke up, I felt painfully overwhelmed. I spent the days waiting for night, and the nights…. just wishing to speed up time and get past this chapter of our lives. The baby took all my energy, and I had zero left for my daughter or my husband, let alone myself.

This lack of self care manifested into anxiety, constant negative thoughts, lack of control. It felt like I was on the edge of a mental breakdown.

The world – my world – revolved around me and my issues. I was so unhappy that it was impossible for my family to be happy. My mental state left me short of patience for my sweet daughter. Expectation after expectation was put upon her to act beyond her years, to help mommy. Fatigue and overwhelm fostered feelings of resentment toward my husband. We fought constantly. Every night was a struggle, which brought him to speak the very clear and very simple statement “I’m tired of hearing you say I’m tired.” And I was tired of it too.

I was in such a lonely place. So out of control, yet, as a mom, needing to be in control of everything.

As I sat in my son’s room that night, not making eye contact with him, just rocking and wishing he’d go back to sleep, and guiltily harboring the blame I put upon him for turning my family upside down, it finally dawned on me. The problem wasn’t them. It was me. I needed to get myself under control. I needed to find a way to get my energy back, no matter what my son was doing. There had to be a better way, because otherwise I was headed down a very dark path.

That was 9 months ago, but it feels like a lifetime. When I took control of my situation, and focused on changing some of my habits, it didn’t matter how often my son woke in the night. I figured out how to care for myself, how to fall asleep easier, and sleep deeper, I stopped struggling to fall back to sleep after each night waking. So here I’m going to share with you four keys changes I made to my sleep habits, that wielded immediate results.

Here’s a hint** it has nothing to do with your baby…

1 – Rest, Don’t Digest

The teachings of Ayurveda explain that our bodies function best when we are in tune with circadian rhythms, or ‘natural cycles of the day’. Part of that natural rhythm is to sleep when the moon is up, be awake when the sun is up, and eat our biggest meal when the sun is highest in the sky. Our digestive fires burn their hottest when the sun is burning it’s brightest, and as the sun sets, our digestive system slows, to give energy to other system functions in the body. Late meals and late nights disturb this cycle and compromise the body’s ability to detox and restore efficiently.

Of course, this is no big deal when it happens on occasion. But when it happens for years, the liver can become congested and the body can build toxicity levels in the fat cells in the brain and throughout the body, leaving us with a groggy, hungover feeling in the morning.

So here’s the tip:

Close your kitchen after dinner. Aim to be finished your meal at least three to four hours before you go to bed. The ideal time to eat is 5:00 – 5:30. See how close to that you can get. Going to bed when the bulk of your digestion has occurred gives your body an opportunity to restore efficiently, and you’ll wake feeling more vibrant and refreshed.

2 – Turn Off The Tech

This is probably no surprise for any of you, that this would be on my list. On the news, in the paper, on your facebook feed – we hear about the effects of screen time at bedtime a ton. And it needs to be said again, especially for moms who hang out in front of a screen during their ‘me time’.

I recently conducted a survey for new moms; Of the 165 women that responded, over 90% said they watch TV or browse social media to “relax” before bed. But here’s the issue with digital devices before dreamtime:

Screens Suppress Melatonin. The blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, computers, tablets, and televisions restrict production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm. Reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and to stay asleep.

Screens Keep Your Brain Alert. It may seem relaxing to unwind or zone out to your favorite movie or show before bed, but it’s keeping your mind engaged, and tricking your brain into thinking that it needs to stay awake. And if you’re reading emails that require a response, seeing something that evokes negative emotion on Facebook or in the news, or just pushing through to the end of this episode because what’s happening is so epic, those experiences can make it hard to relax and settle into sleep. Your mind needs time to unwind.

Poor quality sleep has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Suppression of melatonin is a proven cause of an increased risk of cancer.

Basically, turn that sh*t off like your life depends on it.

So here’s tip 2:

Turn off your screens at least an hour before bedtime. If you still want an opportunity to zone out from your thoughts, reach for a book instead. Then at least you’re not staring at the blue screen of death. And if you’re having trouble parting ways with your tech, Do like I did and accidentally toss your tablet in the bathtub (That happened. And I was seriously devastated, and then had the best sleep ever. And then never bought a new tablet and never will).

3 – Listen to Your Body

Coming back to Ayurvedic teachings, between 6 and 10pm our energy hormones, adrenaline and cortisol levels, are coming down. If you’re anything like me (which I’m guessing most of you are), you feel a wave of fatigue sweep over you somewhere between 8:30 and 9:30, and sometimes earlier than that.

I used to feel completely wiped at 8pm sometimes. The kids had gone to bed by then, and I’d be just finishing up the evening tasks of tidying or lunch prep.

My brain would say “Oh my gosh I’m exhausted. Can’t wait to lie down and watch my show.” And my body was like “Umm hold up baby mama, did you not get the memo? I’M EXHAUSTED!”

For some reason we feel this need to ‘treat ourselves’ to these things that don’t serve us once the kids have gone to bed. We push down the tired feelings to get in a little more “me time”. We ignore the fatigue until we hit that 9:30 or 10pm second wind, that makes it even harder to fall asleep.

So here’s tip 3:

Pay attention to your body’s signals, and going to bed when your body wants to!

4 – No Talking Dirty!

And by that I mean no slinging mud ladies. The evening hours, from 6-10pm, are a sacred time – Kapha time. This time is best used for cohesiveness, for connection. A time for relaxed conversation, love and laughter. This is NOT the optimal time of day for bringing up your thoughts on your husband’s tendency to leave his wet towel on the bed, or for sitting down to strategize your financial future together.

Having potentially tense conversations at this time of day is likely to lead to an argument or debate, which could leave you feeling wired and tired and unable to calm yourself for a solid night’s sleep.

So here’s tip 4:

Save the budget planning and other more serious conversations for the weekend or daytime. Use the evenings for mini dates with your husband, creative play with the kids, relaxing laughter with a friend. Things that fill us up, without boiling us over.

Somehow ‘TIRED’ becomes a bad word, especially when you’re using it all day like I was. Now, feeling tired is one of my favorite things!

When I start to experience waves of fatigue in the evening, I know that bedtime is coming – and I lean right into it. I now have a bedtime routine that sets the stage for deep, restorative sleep. And it feels sooooo good. Delicious is no longer a word reserved for food. Tiredness is super delicious.

How are you finding rest amongst the chaos of motherhood? Leave your comments below!

And, to find some tips on creating a bedtime routine that works for you, follow me on facebook.

The nagging voice in our head urges us to make another list, to schedule another play date or dinner, to get the laundry done before we head out for the long weekend camping trip. The voice inside our head leads us through a barrage of tasks, stripping us of the joys of spontaneity, yet enticingly defining us as “master multi-taskers”.

We grin and bear it. We post another instagram pic of ourselves in the shirt that says “Goal Digger” or “But first, coffee” or “Run Now, Wine Later” or “BeastMode”, like we have to be balls to the wall 110 percent of the time. Then later we’ll get wasted to forget this hellish day. It’s exhausting just watching this chaos. And we seem completely unaware of how to slow down.

Of course, anyone who is into health & wellness at any level has heard of this one thing that can really help to calm the crazy. This powerful practice, with the immense ability to help us quiet those voices in our heads, and let go of all the things.

Say it with me now – MEDITATION. Yes, yes, that’s the one.

Now you might read this and think a lot of things. You might have a lot of justifications why meditation isn’t your jam. So I’m here to unpack some of your stories for you.

Top 3 Meditation Excuses

1. “Oh ya, nope. Tried it. Didn’t work. Not for me.” – I used this line. Before discovering that – AMAZINGLY – just because you tried something once and didn’t succeed, doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t try, try again! So the day/time/position/method/setting you tested out meditation in didn’t provide the results you were seeking… Lucky for you, there are many many methods of getting out of your head and into your breath (keep reading for a few options).
2. “I’m too busy to meditate” – You know who is huge into meditating? Tony Robbins. Ever heard of him? Massively successful motivational speaker who’s written 4 best selling books, and generally kicks ass every 12-14 hour day spent motivating the masses? Ya that guy finds time to meditate. Know who else meditates every day? Oprah. You know that lady must have a pretty full plate. Knowing that people like them find the time kinda made me feel silly about using this line. We’re not too busy, we just don’t make it a priority (also, I discovered that the “I’m too busy for xyz” line almost always translates to “I’m not making that a priority”).
3. “I can’t stop thinking” – This is a full on message that meditation is what your body sorely needs! Overthinking is merely a habit, just like all the others things we do in a day. But it is 100% possible to retrain your brain to not only settle into silence, but to LOVE it.

There is a zen proverb that says:

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”

Now, I won’t accept a lot of justification in not having any kind of meditation practice, but oh my goodness I can certainly say with two kids under 5, a full time job, YHC Certification training, starting a business, and writing these beautiful blogs… I do not have 1 hour in which I can place priority on meditation.

Luckily for us there are many beautiful steps on the path to the perfect meditation practice, all of which provide ample benefits.

The Stepping Stones to Your Mindfulness Practice

1. Yoga Nidra Sleep Meditation – There are endless free recordings online to help decompress, quiet your mind, and breathe into all areas of your body, preparing you for restful sleep. This is a great place to start because it doesn’t take any time out of your day. When you’re ready for bed, just pop in your headphones and drift off to peaceville.
2. Guided Morning Meditation – Guided meditations are a beautiful stepping stone to a solid practice. Filled with kind words, generally including some positive affirmations; short guided meditations are great for starting the day right. By listening to the voice of someone else, you can effectively quiet that little voice inside you.
3. Meditating on a Topic – This could otherwise be referred to as brainstorming, but with enhanced intention. Come to your meditation space – this could be the end of your bed, your living room carpet, your backyard, basically anywhere you won’t be disturbed by people or technology – and bring your notebook. Choose your topic (eg; my next blog post, my kid’s birthday party). Sit down and breathe, allowing thoughts on the topic to flow freely. As good ideas come up, break to jot them down so you can expand on them later. As unrelated thoughts come up, just let them go. Just a heads up – you might get insane levels of creative in these sessions.
4. Moving With Mindfulness – Choose a task that you complete without much thought, such as brushing your teeth, doing dishes, folding laundry, eating, or to a certain extent, driving. Now just do that thing, and breathe. This one was mind blowing for me. It is wild how many random, useless, and mostly negative thoughts I had floating around in my head when I actually paid attention to them. Now I’m getting pretty good at moving with mindfulness, catching myself in the thought spiral, and letting it go with a smile.
5. Timed Meditation – starting with 1 minute even. Set your timer so you don’t have to worry about whether you need to get up and check your phone. Just commit to breathing for that one minute. Then go to two. Then 5, and so on.

AND THEN – try going it alone, no guidance, no movement, no timer. And if you’re ready, prepare to receive true bliss.

Do you have a secret to letting go and sitting in silence that wasn’t listed above? We’d love to hear about it. Share in the comments below.

All my adult life, I have loathed my period. A time of emotional upheaval, uncertainty, distress. Inability to communicate with candor and care. Inability to ask for what I need without my partner giving me that look of “It’s that time of the month again isn’t it?”. Of course, it is, and I’m so frustrated that I can’t be normal right now!!

There are about 2 weeks of the month when I am an extremely creative, high functioning person. New ideas abound, along with the energy to implement them. I say yes to every opportunity and look for the silver linings in all situations. I’m social, quick-witted, and confident in myself. I’m a champ.

The other two weeks, well, I wouldn’t describe them the same.

I start to feel pushed into the things I had committed to. I withdraw from social situations; switch to autopilot with the kids. I have miscommunications with my spouse. I get irritated at questions that only a week ago would have brought me joy to answer. To sum it up – shit gets weird. And then the guilty feelings wash over me. Why did I say that? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just get up and do things?

The answer is that I’ve been trying to do the wrong things during this time.

This is something that’s in the water in our society. We’re taught to give 100% all of the time. As business owners, we’re expected to have the same level of content output; the same level of energetic drive, 100% of the time. I think I’m not the only woman who fakes it (in business, or otherwise), probably about 30% of the time. And you better believe that once I started paying attention, I realized the “fake” days lined right up with my menstrual cycle.

Looking into the “why” behind my fluctuating ability to perform at different times of the month, I learned that as estrogen levels decline in the weeks before our period, so does our ability to think and communicate clearly…. or to remember simple words… or the fact that there’s wet laundry in the washing machine.

Over the last few months, I’ve done some deep searching and reflecting on what I expect from myself – in terms of my business and relationships, and my self-care – at different times of the month. I’ve made some beautiful realizations about what my body needs at different stages of my cycle, and am working to implement a more thoughtful approach to my business and life, using my cycle to my advantage.

Monthly Menstrual Cycles in Business

‘Connecting The Female Energy Cycle’ Photo Credit Dana Gillespie – www.mymoontime.com

Luteal Phase (otherwise known as PMS) – Estrogen levels declining:

What has long been regarded as the least favorite time of the month, has become a well-needed space for reflection on how the previous month unfolded. Stepping back from my soapbox, I go inward – assessing the successes and failures of the last month. I make lists, organize my office, update my books. I meditate and provide myself with long and loving massages. I reassess my commitments, retreat from that which does not serve me, and prepare to realign in the direction that feels right.

Menstrual Phase (our period) – Lowest Estrogen Level:

This phase is so sacred. It is the peeking sunlight after the storm. Through my processes of reflection in the luteal phase, I set new intentions for the month to come. I think about my vision. From a refreshingly emotionally balanced place, I write down my goals and listen to my gut feelings. I meditate on my business and express gratitude. It is during this time that I often get those aha! moments, where a new idea pops into my head. I take some time to outline the content of these new ideas.

Follicular Phase – Estrogen Rising:

As my energy levels rise, so does my self-confidence. I dive into my seedling ideas, have brainstorming sessions, write drafts, and problem solve the steps toward my vision. I get into conversations, connect with my tribe, reach out to the peeps who would benefit from my offerings. And I get posting on social media, sharing what’s new and shiny.

Ovulation Phase – Peak Estrogen = Peak energy:

This is the money week. Clear-headed and concise, I seek opportunities for interviews, free talks, and networking events. I spread joy. I dance and sing like my kids are watching. I shoot my videos, offering humor along with knowledge. And I batch task my social media posts, scheduling them for the weeks to come, to provide myself with that well-deserved reflection and organization time.

This breakdown of my cycle has brought so much clarity to the way I run my business and the way I treat myself. As I focus my energies as outlined above, I release myself from guilt and stress. I am anchored by the moon. And my path, though winding, is clear.

Do you align your business with your monthly cycle?

If you struggle with inconsistent energy levels or brain fog at different times of the month, it’s worth your while to pull out your calendar and start tracking these feelings. Find what works for you and when then use it to your advantage.

Post your experiences in the comments below! I’d love to hear if this helps bring clarity and prosperity to your business too.